CEDAR: Polar Summer Mesospheric Dynamics from Cloud Tracking with AIM CIPS (Aeronomy of Ice Cloud Imaging and Particle Size) Imagery

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The primary goal of this research is to achieve improved understanding of polar summer mesospheric dynamics and its coupling to the lower atmosphere. The methodology is based upon applying comprehensive data analyses to large ensembles of horizontal winds and gravity wave (GW) structures derived from the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) observations. Horizontal winds will be derived using a cloud wind tracking algorithm applied to a full set of GW structures detected within each bowtie image of PMC forms. The cloud detection and GW analysis would be applied to the PMC measurements taken by the AIM Cloud Imaging and Particle Size experiment (CIPS) instrument (2007-current) for both northern and southern hemispheres (NH and SH). These winds would be validated in terms of monthly climatology or via coincidence comparisons for individual wind derivations. Undergraduate and graduate student participation is expected.Based on these results, two science objectives would be studied. The first objective would be the quantification of the occurrence frequency of GWs for each type of GW morphology. These results would be explored to determine possible GW source regions and to consider the wind filtering conditions that lead to either local GW excitation or the upward and poleward propagation of the GW event to the site of the observation. The other science objective is to study the fast traveling planetary waves (PWs) after correcting for the satellite aliasing effect. These PW events would allow the question of variability be examined regarding the inter-annual variability of the PW activity seen in the mesospheric winds and PMC albedo over the AIM mission period (2007-current). These results would also determine whether any inter-hemispheric tele-connection exists between the PW activity and the polar winter stratospheric vortex strength or temperature inside the vortex in the opposite hemisphere. Such a tele-connection would contribute toward understanding the details of the driving mechanism underlying the development of the polar summer PWs.